détournantvsdétournentConfusable pair

Which to use

“détournant” and “détournent” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#35,485
“détournant” frequency rank
#30,583
“détournent” frequency rank
66068
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature détournant détournent
Definition Participe présent de détourner. Troisième personne du pluriel du présent de l’indicatif de détourner.

Where the eye mixes détournant and détournent

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. détournant and détournent follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCVVCCVCC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

10 ch
détournant
10 ch
détournent

Visual trap between détournant and détournent

A purely visual mix-up. détournant (\de.tuʁ.nɑ̃\) and détournent (\de.tuʁn\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by a single letter - a in “détournant” becomes e in “détournent”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 66068, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

détournant is recorded at frequency rank #35,485, classified as averb, pronounced \de.tuʁ.nɑ̃\. détournent is at rank #30,583, tagged as averb, pronounced \de.tuʁn\.

Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.

With a confusion score of 66068, this pair ranks #69,478 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of détournant vs détournent

Shared letters: dnortué. Private to "détournant": a. Private to "détournent": e.

"détournant" · 10 letters · shape CVCVVCCVCC  ·  "détournent" · 10 letters · shape CVCVVCCVCC

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "détournant" for "détournent" ever safe?
No. They are said differently (\de.tuʁ.nɑ̃\ versus \de.tuʁn\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "détournant" vs "détournent" - which ranks higher?
"détournent" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #30,583 in our French list, against #35,485 for "détournant". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Eye-level mix-up between "détournant" and "détournent" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "détournant" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "détournent" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #69,478 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "détournant" and "détournent" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "détournées vs détournent". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #69,478 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list